


Kitsune no Yomeiri

by Eldritch



Category: Shounen Onmyouji
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-20
Updated: 2009-12-20
Packaged: 2017-10-04 16:55:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eldritch/pseuds/Eldritch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's just another average night for Masahiro and Mokkun. Set several years post-canon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kitsune no Yomeiri

**Author's Note:**

  * For [anoyo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anoyo/gifts).



Heian-kyo was quiet and dark this time of night. The streets, well-trodden by sandals and oxcart wheels during the day, were all but empty. Masahiro quietly slid open the gate to his family's house and stepped outside.

"Masahiroooo," Mokkun whined, padding through the gate behind him, "it wouldn't hurt to actually sleep at night for once, you know."

Masahiro rolled his eyes. "I do sleep at night. I just have something to take care of first, that's all." He closed the gate and waited for Mokkun to jump up onto his shoulders. The sudden weight combined with the prickle of claws had long since stopped making him so much as stumble. It would have been stranger not to feel the tickle of soft fur on the back of his neck as he walked.

"Hoooh? And what could a respectable young onmyouji be up to at this time of night?" Though Masahiro couldn't see Mokkun's face from his current angle, he could picture the shinshou's teasing grin perfectly.

In response, Masahiro fished a piece of paper from the front of his kariginu. "I got a letter today. There's a family that wants my help with something, apparently. They told me to meet them tonight to talk about it."

Mokkun leaned forward to sniff at the letter. "You don't think it's suspicious that they want to talk to you in the middle of the night?"

"Sure it's suspicious." Masahiro tucked the letter back into his clothing. "But I'm curious. And besides," he continued, turning his head slightly so that his cheek pressed against Mokkun's fur, "I have you to help me if anything goes wrong, right?"

Despite the unintelligible grumble he received in response, it was obvious that Mokkun was pleased with that answer. "Fine, fine," Mokkun sighed, "let's go investigate this mysterious letter-writing family of yours."

Masahiro reached up to skritch Mokkun behind his ears. "Good, because we're almost there." He turned the corner and stopped in front of a large and elegant manor. Though a high wall snaked around the entirety of the property, an extensive garden was visible through the slats of the gate.

"Huh." Mokkun leapt from Masahiro's shoulder, landing daintily on the ground in front of his feet. "Mysterious _and_ high-ranking, hmm?"

Inside the house, everything was dark. There was no sign that anyone was awake, much less waiting for a visitor. Masahiro glanced doubtfully around himself. "The letter said to meet them in the garden," he said slowly, "but I don't--"

There was a soft creaking sound to one side of the wall. A spell was on Masahiro's lips before he even turned, but it died quickly when he saw that the sound's source was only a small door set into the wall, almost invisible when closed. A young boy, his hair done up in sage-mizura style, peeked through the open door. "Abe no Masahiro-sama?" he asked, holding up a dimly-glowing lantern.

"Eh? Um, that's me," Masahiro stuttered in surprise, and stiffly bowed. He could hear Mokkun snickering at his awkward response, and his cheeks colored.

If the boy noticed Masahiro's stutter, he gave no sign of it. He bowed low and gestured inwards through the door. "My grandmother has been waiting for you. Please, come inside." As he turned and disappeared inside, the swing of his lantern inadvertently illuminated the length of a reddish-furred tail hanging beneath his hanjiri.

Masahiro's eyes widened. "Foxes?" he murmured.

"I wonder if they're distant relatives of yours," Mokkun mused. He gave Masahiro a sly glance over his shoulder as he followed the fox-boy inside. Masahiro growled and walked quickly after him.

* * *

"Hooooh, a wedding?" If the foxes were surprised by Mokkun's presence, they hadn't given any indication of it. In fact, the boy had brought out a pillow for him to sit on, which seemed to please Mokkun immensely. He sat on it proudly, his tail swishing from side to side.

What had looked like a small pavilion from the garden path had been revealed to be a small but richly-decorated house the moment Masahiro had stepped across the threshold. He wondered if the owners of the garden knew what kind of fox magic was happening on their property. It seemed unlikely.

The head of the fox family, an elderly woman whose skin seemed to consist solely of wrinkles, sat across from them. "Yes, for my eldest grandchild. She is to be married to a young man from the country in three days." There was a note of pride in her voice.

Masahiro bowed his head. "Congratulations to you and your granddaughter." It seemed the right thing to say.

Tap, tap, went the old fox's fan against her knee. "All our plans are proceeding smoothly, save for one issue: the weather."

It took Masahiro a moment to grasp the meaning of her words. Everyone knew that sunshine during rain indicated that a fox was getting married, but he'd never considered it in terms of what it might mean for the wedding plans of the foxes themselves. "The weather?" he repeated. "Er, I'd always thought that it happened sort of automatically during the wedding..." He trailed off, suddenly realizing how stupid he would sound if he was wrong.

Luckily, the old fox nodded at his words. "You are correct. Normally, there would be no problem. However..." She tapped the fan against her lips. "With how active the great Takaokami no Kami has been in the past several years, we would like to get her permission before causing any sort of rain."

"And you'd like me to bring your request to her?" Masahiro asked, finally beginning to understand the reason behind his summons.

The smile on the old fox's face reminded him uncomfortably of his grandfather.

* * *

The gate to the garden had barely swung shut behind them before Mokkun broke into his customary teasing. "What a great and famous onmyouji you are, Masahiro! Errand boy to the gods!"

"Shut up," Masahiro muttered, his face heating in embarrassment. So what if it wasn't a job that needed any of his actual skills? They'd asked for his assistance. "It's not going to be hard, and anyway, I'd like to help."

"I bet the bride's pretty. And she'll be grateful," Mokkun continued, sing-song. "'Oh, onmyouji-sama, how can I ever repay you for saving my wedding day?'"

Masahiro didn't even dignify that was a response. He sped his pace slightly so that Mokkun had to trot to catch up.

"Should Akiko be jealous?" the shinshou called from behind him.

"I don't know," Masahiro shot back, "but if she should, what about _you_?"

There was a familiar blast of light and heat against his back. The next thing Masahiro knew, a pair of arms had encircled his waist and pulled him back against a warm chest. "Only if you're expecting a reward from the groom, too," Guren said lightly.

Masahiro rolled his eyes and turned around in Guren's embrace to face him. "I'm not expecting a reward from anyone. Except maybe from you," he said.

"Really? For what?" One clawed hand gently pushed a strand of Masahiro's hair behind his ear.

"For putting up with you," Masahiro said, deadpan.

Guren laughed low in his throat. "Fair enough. Here's your reward, then." He leaned down and pressed their lips together.

Masahiro would never be as tall as Guren, but the past few years had given him enough height that, by standing on the tips of his toes, they could kiss without much awkwardness. Guren's mouth was always hot against his own, and impossibly gentle. For all his needling words, it seemed that Guren would never stop treating Masahiro as something precious and fragile. Lost in the pleasant sensations of the kiss, Masahiro squawked in surprise when Guren suddenly broke it off to scoop him up into his arms.

"What are you doing?!" he demanded.

"Getting you home to bed, of course," Guren said. "Like I said before, it won't hurt for you to actually get some sleep at night."

Masahiro tucked his head against Guren's shoulder, knowing from long experience that protesting would get him nowhere. "I can think of another reason why I don't get enough sleep," he grumbled.

Somehow, the streets of Heian-kyo didn't seen quite so dark or quiet anymore, as the sound of their voices continued all the way back home.


End file.
